A Means to an End
by loststoriesemptymind
Summary: Sometimes that's all things are, simply a means to an end. Charlie/Jake
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: On a much lighter note, this is the ship that will never sail. But would make for a disturbing and beautiful plot twist. It was fun to write and mildly disturbing to think about. **

Charlie relaxed against the couch staring at all the information spread out along the coffee table. Indeed, Jake was digging where he shouldn't have been but that wasn't surprising. Moments ago Olivia had come and was ushered away successfully. It had been slightly thrilling to see Jake turn her away for once. No, he was too special to Charlie and hated the idea of him being her punching bag for much longer. If she wasn't Command's daughter or the President's mistress he would have wiped her out long ago, but that would have been a blood war.

Huck would get involved, and knowingly Quinn would tag along like the little puppy she was.

Yes, Quinn. He had kissed her, held her, and all the while he hadn't envisioned her. No, it had been Jake he thought about. Somehow the man worked his way into the brain, if Charlie thought particularly hard he just imagined he was attracted to bad people. People who were comfortable with their badness, reveled in it and didn't try to change or mar it. That was Jake. His Jake.

"Are you going to tell her?" Charlie asked, Jake looked up from the paperwork and blinked a few times.

"Tell her what? I'm looking into her friend's murder? No. Of course not. She would hate that, she would tell me to stop but I need to know the truth, I need something over his head to be free, then we can be together." Charlie nodded his head slowly.

"That's fine and all, but that's not what I'm talking about."

"Charlie, we discussed-"

"No, you told me you were going to break it to her slowly. Sleeping with her and slowly tapering off is not slow at all. Also I didn't appreciate the slight concussion you gave me." Charlie pointed towards the bruise near his temple. "That was a hell of a homecoming gift."

"Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?" Jake asked. Charlie stood up and smirked as he walked over to Jake and slowly closed the laptop.

"No, I don't." Charlie stepped in between Jake and the coffee table. Jake looked up at him and smiled.

"I'm sorry about the candy bar, Charlie."

"Don't be, you have plenty of time to make it up, right?" Jake nodded his head and stood up, Charlie grabbed him and kissed him pulling him towards the bedroom.

* * *

><p>"You slept with Quinn." Jake said while he lay in bed next to Charlie.<p>

"You asked me to keep an eye on her."

"I said an eye, not your-"

"I was doing my job, _Ex-Command_." Charlie sat up in the bed and looked down at Jake. He had begun to pout and Charlie hated that Jake always chose to bring things like this up after sex. "You asked me-"

"Do you love her?" Jake asked, "Because if you do-"

"Do you love, Olivia?" Charlie asked, Jake remained silent which was a strong enough answer for Charlie.

"You do."

"No, I don't-"

"Jake, you can't have both. You know I will go straight to Olivia Pope and tell her all the ways I had you, and exactly what you've been up to." Jake darted out of his spot on the bed and straddled Charlie's waist.

"I'll kill you."

"No, you won't." Charlie said, he flashed that cocky smirk that only served to irritate and arouse Jake. "So say it."

"I love you, Charlie, and only you."

"And what is Olivia Pope to you?" Charlie asked while cupping his chin and pulling him closer for a kiss.

"A means to an ends." Charlie nodded his head and kissed him gently on the lips.

"I have to go now so finish playing private detective or whatever you were doing." Charlie patted the side of his face and pushed Jake off of him and onto his side of the bed.

"You don't have to go yet, you can stay and maybe we can-"

"Duty calls." Charlie stood up and grabbed his clothes from the floor and picked his cell[hone up from the nightstand. "I'll see you soon, Captain Ballard." Jake nodded his head and watched as Charlie disappeared into the bathroom, he knew Charlie wouldn't bother to say goodbye and he gathered his things he left in the living room and spread them out in the bedroom. Charlie stepped out of the bedroom and left the apartment as silently as he entered. Jake stared at the phone and picked it up after a few minutes of unnerving silence.

"I'm in, for dinner, I'm in."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I am going to continue dragging this ship down to the ground with me. **

Charlie was more than aware that Olivia had been here again. He sighed looking around the apartment and picked up the thin t-shirt. Too thin to be his or Jake's, it was obviously hers. This woman had gotten on his nerves and under his skin more times than anyone else. He called Jake over an hour ago but got no answer, he had found another crack in this hopeless case that Jake was taking on. He dropped the file on the table and headed towards the door.

Unlike Jake he did have a job and things to do besides threatening Command. As he left the apartment he felt like he was being watched, he always felt like he was being watched but this was different. After peaking around a few corners he didn't find anyone and returned to the elevator.

As he entered Jake was still on his mind, he knew without a shadow of a doubt he was with Olivia. Charlie chuckled thinking about how jealous Jake could be, but had the nerve to run around town with that woman of all people.

"I might just call Quinn. She seemed… open to the idea of us." Charlie muttered while pulling out his phone, the elevator doors closed and he dialed her unaware of the phone ringing on the same floor he just left.

* * *

><p>"Huck, I-"<p>

"Were you being nosy, again? If this has anything to do with my family-"

"It's Jake." Quinn fidgeted with her fingers and he looked up from his lunch and turned to her. "I went by to see Jake, to curse him out but I saw Charlie coming out of his apartment and he called me moments after leaving. So I did some research and he came out the night before too, but in Jake's shirt."

"So Jake loaned him a shirt?" Huck said, "And what's wrong with that?"

"I don't know but I have a feeling there relationship is more than that, it's in my gut."

"Well, Charlie is…" Huck trailed off and looked up at Quinn.

"Charlie is what?"

"Open. He doesn't just like women or men, he just has a type."

"And how would you know that?" Quinn folded her arms across her chest, he could tell she thought she knew the man better than him.

"Because I know him. He just likes… bad people who do bad things."

"And is Jake his type?"

"I am not discussing another man's sexual preference with you or ever." Huck bit into the cheeseburger and waited for Quinn to leave. Instead she saddled up next to him and took one of his fries. "That meant the conversation is over."

"I know."

"So why aren't you leaving?"

"Because I have another problem, Charlie came to him with a file and left without the file. I saw it in the feed. What could he be giving Jake, my gut doesn't feel right about this." Huck sighed, he knew she wouldn't leave him alone until they put this case to rest.

"Fine." Quinn wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, he tensed with his hands out to the side of her holding his cheeseburger tightly. "We go once, see if we find anything… if not you stop playing matchmaker."

"I was not playing matchmaker." Quinn said while stealing another fry before moving away from him. When she turned to look at him he was staring at her, she remembered that odd far away look in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Something is wrong, you'll tell me." Quinn stood up leaving him alone, he watched her disappear out of his door. How did she just assume he would tell her anything? He hated that he agreed but he knew she wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't.

* * *

><p>Quinn walked through the apartment and everything was seemingly normal until she reached his bedroom. One section of his walls had been taken up with pictures of… everyone. There was a picture of Harrison and Adnan's body, another photo of Olivia and everyone at OPA. There were images of David and Abby in an intimate setting and Quinn stepped backwards slipping on something.<p>

It was the shirt Charlie had worn the day he first came to Jake's apartment.

"Huck… can you come here…" Quinn called out, moments later Huck stepped in the room and pulled out a small camera. "What is this?"

"I'd say blackmail from the look of it."

"Who is he blackmailing?" Quinn asked.

"From the look of things, Rowan. Everything goes back to him and-"

"Rowan killed Harrison?" Huck nodded his head slowly.

"From the way everything looks, looks like he killed both. Either one or both of them stumbled on some unbelievable truth." Huck walked up to the wall.

"And what is the truth?" Quinn's eyes danced over the images and the post-it notes attached to each other. One string led to another and it was a jumbled mess in her mind.

"Rowan killed the Presidents son, or rather this man did on his orders." Huck pointed to the Secret Service agent. Quinn sighed, "But I don't see what Charlie has to do with this or why he would even be helping-" They both heard the door open and voices join in.

"Oh my god, they're here. What do we do?" Quinn's eyes bulged as she talked, Huck led her towards the closet and stepped inside with her. Huck looked at Quinn and pulled out his gun and the slight nod of his head meant he was advising her to do the same thing.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're not taking this thing a little far?" Charlie asked, he picked his shirt off the floor and looked at the wall of information that Jake provided. Charlie stared at all the details and it was proof that Command had him killed and disposed of. Of course, Charlie hadn't been the one who helped dispose of it. He kind of knew the guy who helped with it, he was quiet and strange, and got the odd vibe that he killed people for fun. "It was Tom, eh?"<p>

"Yes, that's what it's leading to. I have footage of him touching the son just before he dies." Jake stood next to Charlie and looked on.

"And now do you need Olivia Pope anymore?" Charlie asked, Jake rested his head on Charlie's shoulder.

"Are you going to sleep with Quinn, anymore?"

"For the record, I haven't slept with her in a while."

"Because she wouldn't let you-"

"Let me? I can't believe you're jealous."

"That's silly, Charlie. You know I don't get jealous." Jake moved from the wall and looked through the papers he placed on the bed. "Don't get upset with me because your whore-"

"My whore?" Charlie turned around, "Did you not screw her on every surface in this apartment, that I kept for you by the way."

"Olivia isn't-"

"Jacob." Charlie walked over to him and looked in his eyes, "Say it with me. What is she?"

"A means to an end."

"Say it louder." Charlie demanded and Jake did.

"And what is Quinn?"

"Huck's headache."

It took all of Huck's strength to keep Quinn confined in the closet. He knew when Jake called her a whore that Quinn wouldn't be able to bite her tongue. While she had stood nervously before they listened to every bit of the conversation closely and Huck knew now that Jake and Charlie were in a relationship. A close one. It boiled his blood that Jake had been stringing Olivia on this entire time. Huck had proof of this, he could show Olivia and only pray that she would see reason. He knew about her extremely complicated relationship with the President and hoped that Jake would be the one for her, but now he could see that that was wrong.

Jake would have to die.

Charlie would have to die, too.

"You really think I'm a headache?" Quinn asked while searching the room for anymore damaging evidence.

"No, I was in the closet with you remember." Huck said and knew the words only served to anger her more, he snapped a few more pictures before turning around and looking at her. "You can be very... intense."

"Annoying? Pushy? Is that what you meant?"

"Your words not mine."

"Well it's not my fault." Quinn began to put the things back as they were before they arrived, "I wasn't always like this."

"It's not a bad thing." He said and left the room and missed the half smile, Quinn wondered if it was a compliment or just something to calm her down. As they stepped out of the apartment the elevator door chimed, Huck panicked for a second before quickly turning around and knocking on the door. He yanked Quinn and she turned around back towards the apartment.

"Huck? Quinn? What are you doing here?" Jake asked. Huck turned around slowly with a surprised look on his face.

"It's Olivia. She's hurt, we need you to come with us." Jake nodded his head and followed them back down to the elevator.


End file.
